Thank you for your presence last night during the Council hearing. It meant so much to have your support and to look out and see your faces during what could have been a very difficult time for me. I can’t thank you enough! I feel vindicated and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Now for the bad news! I have been blessed through all of this drama to be offered two jobs in other states and I accepted a new job. I am planning to resign this week with December 31 as my official last day.

Please forgive me for any disappointment I’ve caused you by leaving after your generous support and I hope you understand why I have made this decision.

At 98, my mother is still one of the wisest people I know and one of her great lessons to me has been “when you see the handwriting on the wall you should stop and read it”.

Again, I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedules join me last night. I now count you all as very dear friends………RW

Thursday night’s episode of NBC sitcom “Parks and Recreation” featured a funny storyline that reminded me of Metro turf wars. In the show, the Pawnee, Ind., Parks and Recreation Department is upset to hear that the city library system wants to build a new facility on the abandoned construction pit that Amy Poehler’s character, the deputy parks director, is struggling to convert into a park.

The library system apparently has been a thorn in the parks department’s side for quite some time. Poehler’s Leslie Knope fumes about “the most diabolical, ruthless bunch of bureaucrats I’ve ever seen. They’re like a biker gang. But instead of shotguns and crystal meth, they use political savvy – and shushing.” When she tells the parks staff about the situation (“News flash! We’re screwed!”), colleague Tom Haverford responds, “Punk-___ book jockeys!”

Here in Metro government, the parks department got $664,000 less than it wanted for 2007-08 when the council decided to give that money to the Nashville Public Library so it could maintain its operating hours. Parks wanted to use those funds to staff several new nature and history centers, but it got outflanked in a struggle for money.

]]>http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2009/has-amy-poehler-been-hanging-out-in-metro/feed/0Memo lays out budget concerns, next steps for Metro parks boardhttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2009/memo-lays-out-budget-concerns-next-steps-for-metro-parks-board/
http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2009/memo-lays-out-budget-concerns-next-steps-for-metro-parks-board/#commentsTue, 03 Nov 2009 18:01:44 +0000Michael Casshttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/?p=7761Metro Finance Director Rich Riebeling sent a memo to Metro Parks Board Chairman Stan Fossick late Monday to talk about problems with the Parks and Recreation budget. Riebeling says in the document that the department’s deficit for this fiscal year, which started July 1, could hit $1.77 million if steps aren’t taken to get it under control.